Chelsea's summer transfer plans are still relatively unknown as fans wait to see who will complete their takeover of the club.
It is understood that the April 11 deadline for final confirmed bids has been extended slightly, which means that the state of the Blues' transfer window remain up in the air.
This hasn't stopped the rumour mill continuing, however, and football.london provides you with all the latest rumours that have been circulating throughout Friday.
READ MORE: Chelsea sale: State of play as Todd Boehly and Ricketts Family follow suit in race to buy club
Eden Hazard to Arsenal 'meeting'
Arsenal are said to have held a meeting with Real Madrid over the potential loan signing of winger Eden Hazard in the summer, according to reports in the foreign media.. The Belgian has struggled since he switched to the Bernabeu in 2019. It would represent a shock move for the Gunners, seeing as the 31-year-old shined while at London rivals Chelsea all those years before. Of course, his final game for the Blues was the Europa League final win over Arsenal.
Despite making a move to La Liga for over £100million, he can’t get into the Real Madrid team as he has struggled to settle as well as being impacted heavily by injuries. In just 65 competitive appearances, the winger has scored just six goals and assisted ten. Discussing his lack of game time back in February, Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said: “He [Eden Hazard] is fine and is training well, but I make decisions for the team; If he doesn’t play, it’s because I choose someone else. He has played games that I believed he could help the team. It is nothing personal, and he doesn’t have any physical problems.”
However, it appears as though he could be shown the exit door this summer as Footmercato reports that the club are looking to send him out on loan. They also claim that Arsenal have held an early meeting with them over a potential deal for Hazard.
Read the full story here.
£2.5million Antonio Rudiger problem
Juventus' pursuit of Rudiger continues to draw traction as the Old Lady look to beat Barcelona to the punch for a defender whose future is still up in the air, despite Thomas Tuchel's confidence. “If it’s true, of course. I would try to meet him if I was at any other club. He’s still our player and we still think there’s a good chance he stays our player once things are solve," Tuchel said on the Barcelona meetings that reportedly took place with his representatives.
"This situation is the situation at the moment, our hands are tied. We cannot speak or negotiate with him and his agent. Fair enough if it’s true that he listens to other offers. That’s the way things go but I am still confident.”
Meanwhile, Sport Witness have reported that the Germany international wants £2.5m more in wages than Juve are currently prepared to offer.
According to the story in the Italian media, the Chelsea player is calm about the situation and ‘taking his time’ to decide his future. Corriere Torino says Rudiger’s priority is still given to Chelsea, so he shall wait and see how the club sanctions will go until the summer.
In case he doesn’t stay at the Stamford Bridge, then there are plenty of clubs who’d like to sign him, as besides Juventus, the likes of Barcelona, Paris Saint Germain and Real Madrid have all been linked with him as well.
Steven Gerrard Chelsea snub explained
The now Aston Villa manager has used his own experiences in rejecting a big club like Chelsea to offer Spurs' Harry Kane some big advice ahead of the summer transfer window, talkSPORT have reported. Gerrard once nearly made the controversial switch from Liverpool to Chelsea when Jose Mourinho was in the hot seat but his love for his boyhood club meant that this couldn't come to fruition.
“I admire his loyalty to Tottenham and, of course, I’m sure it’s been tempting for him on many occasions to go and take one of those options,” Gerrard said in his pre-match press conference on Friday. “The Spurs fans should enjoy him and admire the loyalty he’s given them. You can see a guy who is desperate for success with Tottenham and I have a lot of admiration for that.
“He might still have the opportunity to achieve a couple of things in his career which might mean more to him with Tottenham than anyone else because of what Tottenham have also given the player. That’s what it boiled down to with me. The decision was, yes I could go to three or four teams in a foreign country or a couple domestically who maybe have a better chance of winning.
“But winning something with your team, the one you love and the supporters you love, I think that will mean more to him for the rest of his life than a short-term fix.”
